


History of All the Wrong Guys

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: Family is Everything [25]
Category: Jersey Boys - Gaudio/Crewe/Brickman/Elice
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College, Drama, F/M, Family, Love, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-12-21 15:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11947578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: Again and again Francine can't help but continually strike out with every single guy she meets, maybe one day she'll actually meet someone who is worth her time. Until then here is a recorded history of all the wrong guys.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was heavily inspired by the song "History of Wrong Guys" from the musical Kinky Boots. 
> 
> To listen to the original song, go here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_j2MlSZDI

February 2013

Francine had to admit that he was pretty cute. They'd been in a class together last semester and she had thought he was cute then too, but had ignored it to focus on getting through her first semester of college. Now she felt a bit more settled, more confident. So. There was a cute boy in her history class and she decided to do something about it. It just so happened that the person who normally sat beside the guy had not arrived so Francine took it upon herself to snag his seat.

Of course, she knew that there weren't actually assigned seats, but their class together last semester had been in the same room and he'd sat in the same seat then too. A few minutes later he arrived and Francine watched from the corner of her eye as he scanned the room, cocking his head when he saw her, and coming over to sit in his usual seat. Step one: complete.

"You're not Max," he commented taking his seat and putting down his bag.

"An astute observation," she replied, "I'm missing a few key features. The beard for example."

The guy chuckled, "Very true. I'm Zach."

"Francine."

The arrival of their teacher stopped any more conversation, but Francine couldn't help glancing at him every so often. When the teacher announced that it was time to choose partners for their midterm project, before she could ask Zach he beat her to it. 

"Want to work together?" he asked, "I remember you from last semester, you're a great presenter."

Francine felt herself blushing, "It comes from being a performer, I guess."

"Performer?" Zach raised his brow, "I'd love to know more about that."

Francine wasn't feeling particularly bold, but she steeled herself and took a deep breath, "Why don't we go to lunch and I'll tell you about it?"

"I like the sound of that," Zach grinned.

\----------

One of the downsides of working on a school project with her boyfriend, Francine found, was that they often got quite distracted by each other when they were meant to be working.

"We need to focus!" Francine said through giggles, "or we'll never get this done by Friday."

Zach continued nuzzling at her neck and pressing small kisses to her jaw. 

"Oh, come on," he said, his breath tickling in her ear, "the actual project isn't due for a couple weeks. I think your schedule for us can be slowed down just a bit. We can do twice as much tomorrow."

"You said that last time," Francine playfully pushed back at Zach.

Zach gave a long-suffering sigh and it actually took Francine a moment to realize that he was teasing, it had sounded so real. 

"After we finish our work for today," Francine said, "you can get some reward kisses."

"Okay," Zach grinned, "it's a deal."

\----------

Francine closed her eyes and let the last chord ring in her ears. She was so glad that midterms were over and the acapella group had just had a great rehearsal, which was evidenced by the whoop of delight that one of their altos, Ruby, let out.

Her smile grew at the sight of Zach meaning in the doorway waiting for her.

"So that's him, huh?" Robby said, appearing beside her. 

"That's him," confirmed Francine. 

 

She noticed Robby giving him a thorough look over.

"Will you stop?" she hissed.

"Sorry, Cass," Robby said, not sounding very sorry at all, "it's my solemn duty to make sure he's good for you."

"Seriously?" she grumbled, "This is my first boyfriend away from home, away from both dads and from Uncle Nick and Uncle Tommy. I really don't need you to fill in for them."

"Too bad," Robby told her, giving Francine a small pat on the shoulder before waving at Zach to come over.

Zach made his way towards them.

"Can you at least be nice?" Francine sighed.

"Depends," Robby shrugged.

Francine rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Robby so that she could greet Zach. 

"Hey," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek, "I'd like to apologize in advance for anything Robby says."

"Hey!" Robby furrowed his brow.

"Okay," Zach scoffed.

"So, Zachary," Robby said, scrutinizing Zach with narrowed eyes, "what are your intentions towards Cass?"

"Cass?" Zach questioned. 

"Short for Castelluccio," Francine explained, "and that is definitely none of your business Robby. What are you going to do, report back to my dad? Come on, Zach."

She took his hand and began leading him away, ignoring Robby when he called after them. 

"She had better be home by eleven, young man!"

 

Francine didn't stop until they were out of the arts building, at which point she just sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose. 

"So," Zach said after a long moment, "What the hell is up with your friend Robby? He acts like he's your dad or something." 

Francine forced a very fake-sounding laugh, "Nope, not my dad."

"So over protective older brother?" Zach tried

"Nope." Francine shook her head. 

Zach shrugged, "I give up." 

"It really doesn't matter," Francine sighed. 

"Oh, come on Franny," Zach teased, "He's not an ex or anything."

"He's my uncle, alright?"

"What?" Zach laughed. 

"You heard me the first time," grumbled Francine, "he's my uncle."

"Are you pulling my leg?" Zach queried, his voice both incredulous and annoyed, "Tell me the truth. He's like two years older than you." 

Francine was farting to get a bit angry, "Why would I lie about this? He's my dad's brother, God."

They continued walking through campus towards their favorite coffee shop. Francine hoped this meant the topic was dropped. 

"Was he adopted or something?" asked Zach

"Oh you wouldn't think that if you saw them together," replied Francine, shaking her head. She was starting to get annoyed by his persistence. 

"So one of your grandparents remarried, then," Zach said decidedly. 

"Nonna and Nonno have been together practically their whole lives," scoffed Francine. 

"So then-"

"Stop trying!" Francine snapped, "My dad has two brothers and Robby is one of them."

"What?" Zach raised his brow.

"Please just get over it," Francine rolled her eyes, "it's not that big of a deal."

But he didn't get over it and that wasn't the only thing that started annoying her about him. Soon, she started noticing all the little things that she hadn't before, little things that got on her nerves.

And this little things became big things, and Francine began to question why she even liked Zach in the first place. But he was her first real boyfriend, so she kept putting off any sort of talk for far longer than she should have.

It was now two weeks before finals and Francine could hardly stand it anymore.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Francine snapped out of her thoughts at the sound his voice. 

"No," she said honestly, "sorry. I have my juries coming up and I'm really having trouble with some of my French lyrics."

"Whatever," Zach muttered, "you've been working on that shit for weeks."

"Okay, you know what? I'm done," said Francine, "I am done with this. You've been getting on my nerves for weeks and now I'm done. We're done."

"Francine..."

"I'm serious," Francine folded her arms across her chest, "I'm so done with you, that I wouldn't mind not ever seeing you again."

Zach sputtered for a few moments, but when it became apparent to him that Francine wasn't changing her mind, he stormed out of her dorm room, slamming the door on his way out.

Francine felt tears brimming in her eyes, but she knew she shouldn't be having regrets. "Good riddance," she muttered.


	2. Brian

"So are you coming to the welcome event?"

Francine looked up from her laptop at her new roommate. They'd only been sharing the room for a few days, but Francine already liked Angie better than her previous roommate. 

"I didn't really think about it," replied Francine honestly. 

"Free pizza!" Angie said excitedly, "What's there to think about?"

"I can get better pizza at home-" Francine shrugged.

"Free!" Angie insisted, "Who cares if it sucks? It's free, that's all part of the college experience."

"It's a really pointless event," Francine pointed out. 

Every year at the beginning of the year, the College of Art and Music had a welcome/welcome back event. The dean of the university gave a small speech and all the major instructors were introduced, followed by the aforementioned free pizza. As a sophomore, Francine didn't really need to be introduced to any professors. 

"Come on," Angie prodded, "There will plenty of time later in the semester to sit in the dorm and ruin our eyesight by staring at computer screens for hours on end."

"Fine," Francine agreed.

"Yay!" Angie grinned, "Pizza awaits!"

It was a quick walk to the arts building where a lot of students were already gathering outside in the September sun. Almost immediately, Angie was dragged away by somebody, leaving Francine standing alone self-consciously. 

"You look like you want to be here as much as I do."

Francine turned to find that some guy had appeared at her side at some point. 

"It seems kind of ridiculous to be introduced to teachers I've already had a year of classes with," agreed Francine. 

The guy laughed, "And I'm a senior, so imagine it feels for me. I'm Brian, studying classical guitar."

"Francine, vocal music."

"Nice to meet you Francine," Brian held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Brian," Francine smiled and shook his hand.

Francine found herself sitting next to Brian during the meeting laughing and whispering conspiratorially. He even gave her some advice about which professors to take classes with and which to avoid at all costs. Angie found them again as the meeting reached its conclusion. 

"Hey, roomie," she greeted, "and random guy I don't know. Let's get our pizza on."

"Sounds good to me," Francine smiled.

"Well yeah, pizza is always good," Angie beamed.

Francine laughed, sometimes she had to wonder about her roommate’s constant high energy level.

"You ladies have fun," Brian said, "I have some things to take care of. I'll text you later, Francine. I'd love to do a piece together for my senior recital."

Almost as soon as Brian was out of earshot, Angie turned to Francine with a wide grin. 

"Okay, spill," she commanded.

"What?" Francine raised her brow.

"Don't ‘what’ me," Angie pursed her lips.

"We just talked," Francine said, "He probably won't even text me. Come on, let's eat."

 

\----------

Francine recognized the small, pink box from the cupcake truck almost immediately and her eyes widened when Brian placed it down on the table in front of her. 

"For me?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before eagerly breaking the sticker seal and opening the box. 

"Happy birthday," Brian said with a grin. 

Francine laughed, "How did you know."

"Facebook is a wonderful thing," replied Brian.

"Yes it is," Francine reached for the cupcake, "especially when free cupcakes are involved."

"Just don't expect me to sing for you," Brian said, "I am strictly an instrumentalist."

"I forgive you," Francine teased, taking a bite of the red velvet cupcake and sighing happily.

"Right flavor choice?" Brian asked.

"The best," Francine nodded.

"I'm glad," grinned Brian, propping his chin up on his fist. 

Francine narrowed her eyes, "Don't think you're going to get any of this."

"Never even crossed my mind," promised Brian.

Francine grinned taking another bite.

"So listen," Brian said after a few moments, "I was wondering...would you like to go out with me? On a date?"

Francine paused mid-bite and moved the cupcake away, closing her mouth. Her cheeks flushed.  
She quickly swallowed, "Are you serious?" She inconspicuously flicked away the crumbs on her lips.

"Of course I'm serious," Brian replied.

"I guess?" Francine shrugged.

"Wow, you sound so excited," Brian deadpanned, "If you're not interested, that's fine..."

"It's not that," Francine rushed to say, "I just wasn't really expecting it."

"Okay fair enough," Brian laughed nervously, "but that is a yes?"

"Yeah," Francine replied, "Yes, okay."

Brian grinned, "Great."

\----------

Francine liked Brian, and she certainly liked hanging out with him, but she couldn't help but notice that lately his behavior seemed to be changing. Granted they hadn't been dating for long, but this was particularly odd shifts that she was noticing.

It seemed to be happening particularly around certain areas of campus, areas that Brian always seemed extremely keen to get to whenever they spent time together. He was stand almost uncomfortably close to her, his hand protectively around her hip as he called her pet names in an unusually loud voice.

At first Francine went with it but now it was getting old, what finally did it was that she noticed in these places there always seemed to be the same girl walking past.

"Okay," Francine said, coming to a stop and wriggling out of his grasp, "what the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Brian asked, his glance flicking over to that other girl, who was standing nearby. 

"I mean that," said Francine, "Her."

Brian's eyes went wide, "Her?" he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't even know her."

"Bullshit," Francine replied bluntly.

"Seriously, Francine. It's nothing."

Francine raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

"So," she said slowly, "if I were to ask her, she would say that she doesn't know you either?"

Brian sighed, "Okay, look, she's my ex girlfriend alright? She broke up with me."

"Okay," Francine sighed, "and what about the part we just happen to always be in the same place she is?"

"That is completely accidental," Brian said. When Francine didn't seem convinced he added, "The first couple of times."

"So you're still hung up on her," concluded Francine, "How long ago did you break up?"

"A few weeks," Brian answered. 

"Oh," Francine said with false cheer, "you mean about two days before you asked me out."

Brian paled, swallowing tightly as he looked away from her.

"You know what," Francine inhaled, "you're obviously hung up over her still and I don't need that."

"Come on, babe," Brian tried. 

"Nope," interrupted Francine, "I am not a rebound girl, so don't even think about trying again." She walked over to the other girl, "Hey, hi, sorry to bother you. I thought you should know that Brian isn't over you and is trying to use me to make you jealous. So, yeah. Do with that information what you will."

With that, she walked away and didn't look back.


	3. TJ

October 2013

"The scowl etched deeply on your face is very telling," Angie muttered barely looking up from her book.

Francine let out a deep sigh, "You won't believe what just happened."

Angie set down her book, "Try me."

Francine flopped onto her bed, "You remeber Brian?"

"Was that bassoon dude?" Angie asked.

"No," Francine groaned, "he plays Sax, but that's not important he asked me out a couple weeks ago-"

"I don't know if I like where this is headed," Angie furrowed her brow.

"Turns out I was just a rebound," Francine finished.

"What a dick," fumed Angie, "He doesn't deserve you."

"Hence my newly single status," Francine agreed.

"Good for you," Angie sat up straight.

"Well it doesn't make me feel any better," Francine groaned.

"Have you heard of an app called Tinder?" Angie asked.

"No," replied Francine with a frown, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's a dating app," Angie told her, "Like dating sites, but quicker. You make a snap decision based on a picture and a short bio. If they don't like you, who cares? You'll probably forget about them in a couple hours anyway. If they like you too, then you can start messaging them."

"Do I want to know why you have a knowledge of this?" Francine raised her brow.

"My brother," Angie replied casually, "give me your phone and I'll set you up."

"Honestly, I'm not sure we've known each other long enough for me to trust you to set up my dating profile," Francine admitted, although she was already pulling out her phone.

"Psh, it's no big deal," Angie said, "I'll let you proof read before anything gets posted. Promise."

Francine sighed and passed Angie her phone and immediately the work began.

"Okay we need a really cute picture of you," Angie decided.

"Check my Facebook," Francine told her, "and don't you dare post a dirty status or anything. I'm friends with my dads."

"Seriously?" Angie made a face.

"Don't give me that, you already told me you're friends with your parents," Francine shot back.

Angie rolled her eyes and started flipping through the pictures.

"Don't you have any pictures that are just you?" she asked with exasperation, "I mean, I'm all for including a pic with your dads to ward off homophobic losers, but most of your other pictures are with Robby. You can't include pictures of yourself with a hot guy in your dating profile. Nobody will stick around long enough to figure out that he's your uncle."

"You think that Robby is hot?" Francine asked bemusedly.

"It was a passing fancy," Angie told her, flapping a hand as if shooing away a bug, "I would never do anything about it.

"You sure?" Francine grinned.

"Definitely," Angie nodded, "now get up."

"But why?" Francine pouted.

"Picture time that's why," Angie insisted.

"Can't you use my headshot from when I was doing college audition?" Francine asked, "It's not that old."

"But that's a headshot," Angie said, "We need to show off your rocking figure too."

Francine's eyes lit up, "So, does that mean I get to pick out an outfit?"

"Oh god," Angie groaned.

"I can definitely get into that."

"I regret what I just said," Angie sat back down, "this is going to take hours."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Francine said, "We can go find a practice room and do some posing with the piano."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," mused Angie, "Show off your talents and interests."

"Should we take some new photos of you while we're there?" Francine smiled.

"Sure, why not," replied Angie, "but don't expect me to put on anything fancy."

"I have a blouse that would be perfect for you," Francine wheedled.

Angie frowned, "I don't really like dressing up-"

"Also that would look super adorable with some great leggings I have," Francine continued.

"You aren't going to take no for answer are you?" Angie sighed.

"Nope," Francine grinned.

\----------

A long while later, when they returned to the dorm, both girls flopped down onto Francine's bed.

"I told you that would take forever," Angie said.

Francine giggled, "But you can't deny that it was fun."

"I guess it was," Angie sighed, "now let's set you up on Tinder."

Sitting together on the bed, Angie and Francine began filling out the app's questionnaire, uploaded several photos, and used their combined talents to write the short bio that people would see before deciding to swipe left or right.

"Are you ready?" Angie asked, her finger hovering over the 'Done' button.

"Yes," Francine nodded taking her phone in hand, "here we go."

As soon as she pressed the button, the first bios of guys in the area began popping up.

"Oh wow, okay," Francine muttered. She carefully read the bios and looked through all the photos before making her decision of which direction to swipe.

After about five minutes of this Angie had enough and sat herself on Francine's bed, "You're being too nice." She then snatched the phone away.

"Hey!" Francine exclaimed.

Angie began swiping through people at a dangerous speed, obviously not even reading the bios.

"No, no, no, yes, no, no, no, no..." Angie muttered continuing at a rapid fire pace, "no, no, yes"

"Should I be frightened?" Francine asked rhetorically, "I'm frightened."

"Don't be," Angie paused briefly, "no, no, yes, no, yes, no-"

 

"How are you even judging these guys so fast?" Francine wondered.

"I have an older brother," Angie replied.

"So?" Francine countered.

"It means I know things," Angie responded.

 

"Okay, that's enough," Francine said, reaching over and snatching her phone away, "no more matchmaking for you today."

"Aww man," Angie whined.

"I'm the one going to be in charge of my love life," Francine decided.

"Now where am I supposed to get my entertainment?" Angie pouted.

"Poor baby," deadpanned Francine.

Angie lay back on the bed and folded her arms across her chest as Francine took over and began to mull her prospects.

\----------

Francine didn't realize that Tinder changed its search radius based on your current zipcode until she was home for Thanksgiving and started noticing that the guys the app was showing her were from Belleville and th surrounding area.

It was a little uncomfortable to see some of the guys she'd gone to high school with but there was one who caught her attention.

His name was TJ and it was his photo that caught her eye; the bright smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and brought a dimple to each cheek.

Francine smiled as she pondered his picture for a moment. Biting her bottom lip she decided to swipe right, after all it couldn't hurt. And up until this point she had yet to go out with anyone on Tinder.

Immediately, Francine received a message that she and TJ had matched and a thrill went through her. Should she message him first or wait for him to message her? She had no idea how the protocol worked for this kind of thing.

 

She tapped at the edge of her phone case in though while she mulled it all over.

"Francine, dinner!"

Well that answered her question at least for now, Francine sighed sticking her phone in her pocket.

 

\----------

Since they had matched back at Thanksgiving, Francine and TJ had messaged each other every day. Now, she was getting ready to return to Belleville again for winter break.

This time Francine was toying with the idea of actually meeting TJ in person. She couldn't think of a reason not to, from their conversations over the past couple weeks he'd seemed nice enough.

Francine: Guess who's going to be back in Belleville next week.

TJ: I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you

Francine: That would be correct!

TJ: Any special Christmas plans with the family?

Francine: Just me and my dads probably. It's a bit of an ordeal to get the whole clan together. You?

TJ: Not much, just the family dinner.

Francine: Nice, nice.

Francine: So, listen. Since we're both going to be in Belleville, do you maybe want to meet up? We could go to dinner or something.

TJ: Sure thing.

TJ: How about the 27th?

Francine: It's a date!

TJ: :-*

Francine's heart fluttered at the kissy emoji and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Her happiness was only tempered when she realized that she would have to tell her dads about the date in order to explain where was was going. That would be fun.

\----------

"I don't get it," Frankie said, "How do you meet someone on an app?"

It was the night of Francine's date with TJ and she was trying to get use of Frankie's car for the evening. She wasn't sure if her father was being deliberately obtuse or not.

"Seems a bit superficial to me," Bob added, "Deciding to date someone based on how they look."

"Well," Francine reasoned, "it makes sense. The first thing you notice about someone is how they look."

"The first thing I noticed about you dad was his voice," Bob said, "It was love at first listen."

"Aw, you sap," Frankie shot back, looking a little starry eyed as he leaned in to press a lingering kiss to Bob's lips.

"Gross, dads," Francine said, rolling her eyes, "Get a room."

Frankie shook his head fondly.

"Come on this is the 21st Century," Francine sighed, "everyone uses these apps."

"Alright, alright, I don't need more reminders that I'm getting older," Frankie told her, raising his hands in surrender, "You can use the car. Oh, and maybe don't let the guy take you to Tommy's club this time."

"You're hilarious," Francine grumbled.

"Or maybe you should," Bob suggested, "then Tommy can keep an eye on you-"

"I'm leaving now!" Francine got up taking the keys.

\----------

Francine got to the restaurant a little earlier than she had originally planned and she sat in the parked car for several minutes, the nerves starting to make her jittery.

She inhaled deeply and stuck her keys into her purse, "Here goes nothing."

Once inside the restaurant, a cursory glance around told Francine that TJ wasn't there yet. She waved off the waitress who asked to seat her.

"I'm waiting for someone," she explained, blushing for some reason.

The waitress nodded and walked away, Francine kept glancing down at her phone as she waited. The time they had agreed upon came and went, but TJ still wasn't there. Francine was scrolling through her contacts, deciding whether to just call him, when someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey," TJ said.

"Oh hey," Francine put her phone down, "you made it."

  
"Sorry I'm late," he told her, "traffic was insane. Why don't we get a table."

He had a lower voice than she had imagined and the Jersey accent was almost stereotypically thick.

"Okay," Francine smiled and she and TJ went to get seated.

Once they were seated, a silence settled over them as they both glanced over the menu. They were both rather quiet until the waitress came by.

"You ready to order?" she asked.

Food and drinks ordered, the silence emerged again and Francine fiddled with her fingers under the table.

"So," Francine said, eager to break the awkward silence, "did you have a good Christmas?"

"Mhmm," TJ nodded, "nothing too exciting, you?"

"Pretty good," Francine replied.

It had been so much easier to talk to TJ over text. Now that they were face to face, Francine had no idea what to say.

"So you ever gone out with anyone on Tinder before?" Francine asked.

"A couple," TJ told her.

"Is it always this awkward?"

TJ chuckled, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Oh god," Francine sighed blushing slightly.

"Awkwardness just comes with the territory," TJ shrugged, "it's all good."

"That's not as comforting as you probably meant it to be," Francine half-joked.

TJ grinned, "It'll get better. Don't worry."

"Alright if you say so," Francine smiled.

And it actually did. The conversation got slightly smoother, but the arrival of their food was still a welcome distraction. Overall it wasn't as bad as she anticipated but when their check came Francine was glad she could soon be on her way home.

When they exited the restaurant, Francine was prepared to say goodbye but it seemed that TJ had other plans.

"Where to?" he asked.

Francine blinked, "What?"

"Well, we're both staying with our parents, so that's not an option," TJ said, "Not that I'm opposed to sneaking in, it's pretty sexy."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Francine asked, frowning.

"Come on," TJ huffed, "I dealt with all this dinner date bullshit."

"Excuse me?" Francine furrowed her brow, "What did you think you were getting?"

"You can't be serious," TJ scoffed, "What, did you think that I actually wanted to date you? We met through Tinder, for god's sake."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's for hookups! God how clueless can you be!" TJ rolled his eyes.

Francine felt her cheeks start to burn and, fuming, she stepped forward and smacked him across the face.

"The fuck!" TJ exclaimed, holding his cheek.

"Oh, I'm sorry were you not expecting that?" Francine said sweetly, "You're a dick, for god's sake. I would think you'd be used to it by now. God, how clueless can you be!"

With that Francine speedily walked towards her car determined to not look back. She managed to hold herself together, even as TJ shouted obscenities after her.

\----------

When Francine got home, her dads were still in the living room watching a movie. She made no effort to try to sneak by them--there was no reason to and she had to cross through the living room to get to her bedroom anyway.

"How did it go?" Frankie asked as she walked past.

Francine briefly considered telling them about TJ's proposition, but decided against it. Her father would completely overreact about it and probably tell Uncle Tommy, no matter how much Papa tried to stop him.

"It was fine," Francine replied, "Very awkward."

"First dates often are," agreed Bob.

"First date, last date," Francine shrugged, "same difference."

"Not worth seeing again?" Frankie asked.

"Definitely not," Francine shook her head.

"Aw, I'm sorry sweetheart," said Bob, "Why don't you come and watch the rest of this movie with us?"

"I think I'm gonna go to my room," replied Francine.

\----------

Francine had almost completely forgotten about TJ but the time she returned to Boston in January. And while she had nearly forgotten, her roommate did not.

The first thing Angie said when they saw each other again was: "So? How did it go?"

It took Francine a moment to realize what she was talking about, but when it clicked she shook her head.

"I deleted the app," she sighed, "Hookup culture isn't really my thing."

"Tinder isn't used for hookups," Angie insisted, but when Francine raised an eyebrow she amended, "Okay, not only for hook ups. You can't let a single had experience put you off."

"It's not really for me," Francine told her with a shrug, "Call me old fashioned, but I'd rather meet someone in person than psych myself up about a nice bio that just hides a massive jerk."

Angie sighed, "Okay fine."

"I'll be glad to never see TJ again," Francine sat on her bed.

"TJ?" Angie furrowed her brow, "His name was TJ?"

"Yeah," Francine replied, "pretty sure I told you that before break."

"No I would have remembered," Angie shook her head.

"Why's that?" Francine asked.

"According to my dad, you should never trust someone with 'TJ' as their initials," Angie replied sagely.

"That's weird and oddly specific," Francine furrowed her brow.

"If you knew my dad you would understand," Angie replied sweeping her long braid over her shoulder.


	4. Dylan and Cameron

January 2014:  
Dylan

After the fiasco with TJ, Francine was more than ready to put the whole dating thing on hold for an indeterminate amount of time. Of course, the when the brain plans the heart doesn't always listen. As with every new semester some people left the acapella group, and some people joined. And this time Francine took notice of one of the new guys, his name was Dylan.

Sure, she hadn't exactly had a lot of one on one time with him, but he was cute and tall with a deep, dark baritone. And every time he looked at her she couldn't help but smile just a bit, so naturally it didn't take long for Robby to notice.

"So," he said after one rehearsal as they walked towards the student union to grab a bite to eat, "I've noticed you eyeing up Dylan lately."

"Yeah, and?" Francine said defensively, "It's just a crush. No big deal."

"True, true," Robby nodded his head, "but before you fall too far down the rabbit hole there is something you should know."

"What?" Francine asked warily. 

"I know Dylan, we've had a couple of classes together," Robby told her.

"Aaaand?" Francine prompted.

"He's a good guy, don't get me wrong," Robby said, "but he's had a thing for this one girl for the past year and a half. If there's a prime example of head over heels in love, that's Dylan."

"Well damn," Francine sighed.

 

March 2014: Cameron

Francine's crush on Dylan was short lived, especially after Robby's revelation. She had already dealt with a guy who dating her despite wanting someone else and she wasn't about to do that again.

Her feelings for Dylan vanished and Francine was enjoying not thinking about love or boys.

But this was to be short lived because she had to admit the guy who worked at the dining hall near her dorm was pretty dang cute. And while there conversation was mostly limited to, "What else would you like on your wrap?" and "just a little onion and some mustard." Francine began to feel her heart stir once again.

"Strike up a conversation," Angie suggested when Francine told her about it, "It's simple."

"Simple to say, not so simple to do," Francine countered. 

"Okay, fine, then instead of ordering your usual, ask him for a recommendation," offered Angie.

It wasn't a half bad idea, Francine mused.

"Hello? Earth to Francine," Angie poked her.

"That just might work," Francine smiled.

"Good," Angie got to her feet, "because I'm starving and a wrap sounds really good right now."

The two of them walked over to the student union and Angie pumped Francine for information about her crush, not that she had a lot. She only knew his name was Cameron because of his name tag. 

"Well time to fix it," Angie pressed as they made their way to the line.

 

Francine sighed, there were two people ahead of them and all she had to do was ask Cameron for a recommendation and hope that his suggestion didn't ruin her lunch.

"Your usual?" Cameron asked. 

Francine hadn't realized that she'd been to the shop enough times to have a usual, but that fact that Cameron remembered it was a good sign. 

"Actually, I was hoping for something different," Francine said, "Any suggestions?"

"Well," Cameron mused, "I'm a vegetarian, so my options are a little slim, but I'm a fan of the avocado veggie wrap."

"Done," Francine agreed, "with cheese."

Cameron chuckled, "Coming right up!"

As he started putting her wrap together, Francine made an impulsive decision. 

"When are you off today?" she asked. 

"I'm actually about to go on my lunch break," Cameron told her, using a knife to squash the soft avocado slices. 

"Do you want to come and eat with me and my roommate?" Francine offered. 

"Actually," Cameron said, a smile spreading, "I'd love that."

"Great!" Francine grinned, "See you in a bit."

When she paid for her wrap, Francine went over to where Angie was waiting for her. 

"Well?" Angie asked eagerly, practically hugging her own wrap. 

"He's going to eat lunch with us," Francine told her. 

Angie nodded appreciatively, "Alright. A friendly meal first, good choice. Let's go grab a table."

They grabbed a few napkins before snagging a table by the window.

"I'm starving," Angie sighed.

"When are you not?" Francine laughed.

"What can I say? I'm a growing girl," Angie joked. 

Francine rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly. 

A few minutes later Cameron joined them with his own wrap in hand.

She judged that there seemed to be more and more to like about Cameron.

"Oh crap," Cameron said suddenly, "Be discreet about it, but do you see that tall guy over there?"

"The blonde one?" Angie asked. 

Cameron nodded, slightly miserably. "He's in my major, biology with a pre-med track, so we have lots of classes together. I swear, he's torturing me."

"What do you mean?" frowned Francine. 

"Just look at him," Cameron sighed, "Nobody has any right to be that sexy and that smart."

"Oh," Francine blurt out, "so you're..."

"Gay," Cameron filled in, raising an eyebrow coolly, "Problem?"

Francine snorted, "I've got two dads."

"Okay," Cameron smiled, "cool."

Francine continued to eat her wrap as she and Angie listened to Cameron wax poetic about the love of his life who didn't know he existed. So maybe the whole crush thing didn't work out, but at least she'd made a friend out of the whole situation without embarrassing herself.


	5. Josh

April 2014

The sun was shining and Francine had just gotten out of one of her classes a little early so she decided it might be nice to hang out on the green just outside the Performing Arts center. Shucking off her hoodie she bundled it up into a makeshift pillow hoping to enjoy the weather.

 

Just as she had started to doze slightly, Francine found herself suddenly in shadow. She opened one eye to find a guy standing directly in front of the sun.

"You're blocking the sun," Francine grumbled.

"Who needs the sun when you're around," the guy said. 

Francine opened both eyes and raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"I figured it was worth a shot," he shrugged.

Francine sat up, "I'm sorry but am I supposed to know you from somewhere?"

"And I thought that I was so memorable," the guy sighed, "Last year? Frat party? I saw you, but before I could talk to you, away you went."

"Oh," Francine began to blush, she remembered exactly what had happened at the frat party and the fact that she and Angie had been eating cake for what felt like months.

"Well I really didn't talk to a lot of people," Francine added.

"You and your friend dashed out of there pretty fast," the guy smirked.

"We had places to be," replied Francine. 

The guy raised an eyebrow, "Apparently, the cake had places to be too."

"No comment," chuckled Francine. 

"Come on did you really think no one would notice?" The guy sat down beside her.

"We'd kind of hoped," Francine replied with a slight laugh. 

"Usually, we probably wouldn't have," the guy admitted, "but that time it was a birthday cake. My birthday, in fact. I'm Josh."

He held out his hand and she shook it. 

"Francine. Sorry for stealing your birthday cake last year."

"It's okay," Josh laughed, "although I must ask, what kind of cake was it?"

 

"Marble," Francine told him, "two layers with some chocolate frosting between them."

"My favorite," said Josh, "I take it back, you owe me a cake. Although, we could just go out for a coffee together and call it even."

"Smooth," grinned Francine.

\----------

One coffee outing turned into two and soon enough Josh and Francine were seeing each other on a weekly basis.

And outings soon became dates, something Francine was very happy with.

Before she knew it, they had been dating for a month and he was the person she most other than Angie and Robby. In fact, all four of them often hung out together. 

 

He was even accompanying her to Robby's graduation, "You and Josh are getting pretty serious," Angie noted, "Taking him to family events like graduation and stuff like that."

"Yeah," Francine beamed, "well haven't you ever met someone you just click with like that?"

"I can't say that I have," Angie said, "but I'm happy for you."

Soon, summer was upon them and Francine wasn't really looking forward to spending three months away from Josh.

And apparently neither was he and the day before Francine was set to leave he made a point of tell her as much.

"I'm going to miss you over the summer," Josh held onto her hand.

"I'm going to miss you too," Francine sighed.

"You'll call me?" Josh asked, "Not texting, calling."

Francine chuckled, "Of course I will."

"Every day," Josh added, a statement rather than a question.

"I'll try my best," Francine nodded.

And at first she did. No matter what looks her dads or uncles gave her, Francine would always step out of the room at two thirty in the afternoon to call Josh, who was down in Florida with his family.

But around late June it was becoming harder and harder to remember to call with everything else she had going on during the summer.

The first couple of times, nothing happened and Francine just called Josh the next day to apologize. Then Josh started calling her on the days she didn't call him, leaving messages on her phone, asking about every detail of her day, complaining that she didn't call him, wondering if there was something wrong. 

Everytime Francine missed a call she began to dread those messages, and for the next few days two thirty on the dot she called Josh.

"It's kind of weird," Angie said when the two of them talked one day in July, "He's being really pushy."

"I think it's sweet," Francine said, unwilling to admit that she wasn't fully convinced of that fact herself. 

"I come from a family of die hard romantics and I know sweet when I see it," Angie deadpanned, "this is not sweet, and if you want I can make you listen to every single one of my siblings tell you the exact same thing."

"Angie..." Francine rolled her eyes, "you're overreacting."

"Okay," Angie said finally, "I'm just saying-"

"Drop it," insisted Francine, thankful when Angie complied and they moved on to other topics. 

The summer continued in that way, on and off calls with Josh and a slightly rising sense of dread that Francine kept deeply hidden. 

Then it was time to go back to Boston, for the first time without Robby in the car beside her. It was odd, although she was looking forward to seeing her friends and getting back to a capella rehearsal. 

 

But the first thing she was greeted by was her roommate nearly tackling her to the ground.

"Oh my god I missed you!" Angie hugged her tight.

"Hey," Francine laughed, squeezing her back. 

"Hey?" Angie stepped back, "That's all you've got to say?"

 

"What do you want me to say?" Francine asked, rolling her eyes fondly, "My dearest friend Angelica, whom I have missed with all my heart!"

"Now that's more like it," teased Angie.

"You're crazy," Francine rolled her eyes.

"And we all know that's why you love me," Angie smirked

"Yeah yeah," grumbled Francine good naturedly and she started to dig through her purse to find her phone. 

"You want a tour of our new off-campus digs?" Angie asked, gesturing around at the lobby of their new apartment building where they now stood. 

"I just have to call Josh," Francine said, "I told him I would call as soon as I got here. He's probably worried sick since it's already ten minutes past the arrival time I told him."

For a moment, it looked like Angie was going to say something, but then she didn't. 

Francine ignored it and simply pulled up her contacts and called Josh.

 

\----------

After a tour of their new place and a light snack, Francine said farewell to Angie and set off to campus to meet up with Josh at the coffee shop where they'd had their first date.

When she got there she spotted Josh sitting at the table they usually occupied when they came in.

"Hey," Francine smiled taking the empty seat across from him.

Josh gave her a smile and crooked his finger until she leaned over the table to press a kiss to his lips.

Francine smiled as she kissed him, "It's to see you," she said when they broke apart.

"I missed you so much," Josh replied, "I felt like I was dying without you."

Francine let out a small laugh, but his expression stayed serious so she cut herself off. 

"Well I'm back," Francine took his hand. 

 

"I don't ever want to be apart like that again," Josh sighed.

Francine was saved from answering by the barista calling her name. 

"I'll get it," offered Josh, going to the counter to get her coffee.

Francine sat there by herself wringing her hands for a moment realizing she was almost dreading Josh's return with their drinks.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Francine suggested when Josh gave her the drink, holding the to-go cup between her hands and letting the warmth soothe her. 

"Whatever you want, babe," Josh said. 

As they walked, he kept her hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup tightly in his own.

"Are you okay?" Francine asked.

"Now that we're together again," Josh responded, "The summer was hell."

"About the summer," Francine started, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Josh asked, an odd glint in his eyes. 

"No," Francine insisted, "of course not. You know that I really like you, Josh. I like you a lot. It's just...you got very upset when I didn't call you and it was a little stifling."

"That's ridiculous," Josh scoffed, pulling her closer, "Love isn't stifling, babe, it's love."

\----------

Francine tried to push the concerns to the corner of her mind and shift her focus onto the new semester. She was a junior now, which meant she had a junior recital to prepare for. This meant that her social life began to dwindle to almost nothing.

And honestly, part of it was because of Josh. He seemed to have memorized her schedule within the first week. He met her at the end of every class and stayed with her until the beginning of the next. He would pull her away in the middle of conversations she was having with her classmates, barely giving her time to excuse herself.

She barely even had a chance to spend with Angie anymore... And they lived together. It was all becoming a little much and Francine was wondering how much longer she could deal with the strain.

She tried to bring it up a couple of time, but as soon as he sensed the topic Josh would start a different conversation. It was getting to the point that the only time she had to herself was in the bathroom and while sleeping.

"This is getting ridiculous," Angie huffed taking her seat on one of the rare times Francine was able to snag lunch with her and Cameron.

"Seriously," Cameron added, "there's something wrong with him."

"I don't know if it's something wrong, exactly," said Francine, "he's just a bit clingy."

"This goes past clingy," Cameron told her seriously.

"Way beyond," Angie stressed.

Francine sighed but didn't respond, pushing her lunch around her plate. 

"We're just worried about you," said Cameron gently, placing a hand on her arm and squeezing comfortingly. 

"There you are!" Josh exclaimed, coming over to their table, "I looked for you by your classroom but you weren't there."

"Didn't you have a meeting with your advisor?" Francine asked. 

"Yes," replied Josh, "but I thought we had agreed to meet by your last class. Like we always do."

"I'm having lunch," Francine told him, "It's lunch time."

"We have lunch together, remember?" Josh's voice was steely, "It's what we do."

"I know but I figured since you were busy I could hang out with Angie and Cameron," Francine replied, "They're my friends so I thought it would be nice."

"We're going," said Josh, his eyes locked on Cameron's hand, which was still resting on Francine's arm. 

Francine stood without arguing and collected her things, leaving a mostly uneaten lunch on the table when she left with Josh.

\----------

"Cameron I'm really sorry but I just can't today," Francine sighed.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Cameron pouted. 

"I know," replied Francine, tucking her phone between her ear and shoulder so that she could grab her music folder, "Between Josh and prepping for juries, I just don't have the time. I won't even be able to see Josh today because of an extra voice rehearsal tonight."

"How did he take that?" Cameron asked. 

"I'm scared to tell him," admitted Francine, "It's bad enough when I'm late to our dates, this is the first time I'll have to cancel one."

"Well if he's a dick I'll spit in his wrap the next time he gets one," Cameron replied.

Francine chuckled, "Duly noted. I should go. I need to let Josh know that I can't make it tonight."

"Have a good rehearsal," Cameron said. 

After they had hung up, Francine dialed Josh's number. She had learned over the past few months that calling Josh was a much better idea than texting him.

It barely rang once before Josh picked it up, "Hey babe."

"Hey Josh," Francine bit her lip.

"I made us reservation for tonight," Josh told her, "Nothing fancy, but you should definitely wear that purple dress. It makes you look amazing."

"I can't make it tonight," Francine told him in a rush. 

The tension was immediately palpable. 

"What?"

"I can't come tonight," Francine sighed, "I really need to practice for my juries."

Josh was silent for long enough that Francine started to get nervous. 

"Josh?" Francine asked.

 

"I made reservations," he said finally, "and we will be keeping them."

"I have to rehearse," Francine told him again, "If I don't pass these juries, I may need to stay an extra semester to make up for it and not have my junior recital. This is important to me."

"Obviously our dates aren't," Josh snapped. 

"That's not true!" Francine tried her best to stay calm but she felt herself wearing thin.

"And yet you can't come and have some dinner with me," said Josh. 

"I need to rehearse," Francine reiterated, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She hung up before she could lose her nerve. It immediately began ringing, but she ignored it and made her way to the practice room she had reserved.

\----------

After that, Francine found herself unconsciously making the effort to find things to do away from him and although Josh did get pissy about it he continuously mentioned how he was "allowing" her to do her own thing, which of course only made her want to do more. 

One of those things was auditioning for the spring musical. Angie was the one who had convinced her by playing the soundtrack for the show every moment they were together. 

"I bet you did awesome," Angie grinned as Francine exited the audition room. 

"I may have done awesome but my Spanish sucks," Francine rolled her eyes, "they are never going to cast me."

"Well it's a good thing you have your own personal Spanish teacher who will work for gratis-"

"And who would that be?" Francine furrowed her brow.

"Me!" Angie exclaimed before starting to mutter to herself in Spanish.

Francine laughed and hooked her arm through Angie's as the two of them continued to walk. She felt so free being away from Josh and if that wasn't enough to convince her that she needed to break up with him, what happened next would do the trick.

"Well you'd better teach me all the swear words," Francine grinned.

"Sin promesas," Angie laughed.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Francine turned to see Josh making his way towards them.

"I had an audition," Francine said. 

"You never told me," frowned Josh. 

"You don't own me," Francine shot back, "I don't have to get your permission to do things."

"Well, I need to know where you are," Josh told her in a matter of fact tone. 

"No you don't," said Francine.

"What?"

"You don't need to know what I'm doing every second of every day," Francine repeated.

"I'm your boyfriend," said Josh. 

"Not my father," Francine shot back, "And you know what? Not my boyfriend anymore either. I am so tired of you trying to control my life and getting pissed off like this whenever I don't call you. I don't owe you anything."

"You're breaking up with me?" Josh furrowed his brow.

The confusion on his face was almost enough for Francine to change her mind, but she thought back to the feelings of dread she'd been having, to how uncomfortable his behavior had been over the summer, and to all the times Angie had tried to talk to her about it. 

"Yes," she said finally.

At of the corner of her eye she could see Angie beginning to smile, "Come on Ange let's go.”

Francine ignored him calling after her until they'd gotten outside the arts building, at which point her breath started coming in short gasps and her hands shook. She didn't notice that Angie lead her around the side of the building to a bench that was hidden from the main entrance. When she sat, the cold metal of the bench brought her back to the present and her panic began to fade.

"You good?" Angie asked.

"Getting there," Francine swallowed, "that's never happened before."

"The first time you have a panic attack can be very scary," agreed Angie, "Do you want a hug? Would that help?"

Francine nodded and let Angie wrap her arms around her.

"Have you had them before?" Francine asked.

"More times than I can count," Angie admitted rubbing Francine's back, "Feeling better?"

Francine let out a sigh, "I know."

There was silence between then for a moment.

"You know," Francine mused, "has anyone told you that you're a great hugger?"

Angie laughed and squeezed her tighter, "I've been informed."

"Well, it deserves repetition," Francine told her roommate, "Come on, let's go get some Thai takeout and watch crappy old sci-fi movies."

"That's right up my alley," Angie grinned, "I am so down."


	6. Brandon

"I still can't believe I got cast," Francine grinned as she and Angie walked towards the theater.

"Of course you did, you're awesome," Angie said, bumping Francine's shoulder with her own, "and so am I."

Francine chuckled and shook her head fondly. After the break up with Josh, as welcome as it was, Francine had been feeling a bit down. Getting cast in the play would have been enough to lift her spirits, but she and Angie had been cast as the two female leads. 

 

"So you are still going to teach me Spanish right?" Francine asked.

"Of course chica," Angie winked.

"Okay you sprinkling in Spanish everywhere has got to stop," Francine laughed.

"I've got fiery latin blood running through my veins," Angie replied, "it can't be helped."

 

They were some of the first people to arrive at the theatre, thanks to Francine's chronic need to be early. Only the director and music director, who Francine recognized from the auditions, were there as well as a few girls chatting loudly and a guy sitting on the edge of the stage. 

"Welcome!" he called when he saw Francine and Angie enter, "Come on down, I have some forms for you to fill out."

 

"Oh yay paperwork!" Angie exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

"Stop it," Francine elbowed her.

"Everyone's favorite thing," chuckled the guy, holding small packets of paper out to each of them, "I'm Brandon, your stage manager."

"Nice to meet you Brandon," Angie took the packet, "I'm Angie and this is my roommate slash partner in crime Francine."

"Partner in crime?" Brandon furrowed his brow as Francine took her packet, "Should I keep a watchful eye on you two?"

 

"How could you not?" Angie joked, "We're gorgeous."

"Ignore her," Francine told Brandon, rolling her eyes fondly, "She's like this all the time. You'll get used to it."

"Mhmm," Brandon nodded, "just don't give me too much trouble."

"I won't," Francine smiled, "but I can't speak for this one."

"I resemble that remark," Angie said, her head still down over the forms. 

"Uh huh," Francine laughed.

Brandon excused himself then to go give forms to some other cast members who had just walked in. As Francine filled in hers, she couldn't help but glance back at him every so often. 

 

\----------

They were a few weeks in and already it felt like opening night was fast approaching. Francine still fretted about her Spanish sounding too Italian, even though Angie tried to reassure her. For the most part the process was going very smoothly.

The rehearsal process was also extremely fun. Not only did she get to spend time with an awesome group of people, but Francine had also been hanging out with Brandon during rehearsal breaks when he didn't have star managerial duties to attend to.

"You know what," Brandon mused while they were on a ten minute break, "I think you're probably the actor I hate the least."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Francine laughed.

"Well, let's see," Brandon mused, "you actually remember your blocking, your one of the only ones who's keeping to the memorization schedule, I don't have to tell you not to talk during rehearsal when it isn't your scene. I could go on."

 

"Oh come on," Francine rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," Brandon laughed.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Francine told him, her cheeks flushing slightly. 

"Good to know," Brandon smiled he then glanced his watch, "well time to get back to work, we're running Nina's first scene next."

\----------

Rehearsals continued and the amount of time she spent with Brandon increased. Francine even made an effort to drag Angie to rehearsal earlier than she usually would just so that they could help Brandon with his various pre-rehearsal tasks.

"There must be some reason we keep coming here twenty minutes early," Angie glanced at Francine, "because something tells me you really don't enjoy tying these cables up as much as you are making it out that you do."

"Nothing wrong with tying up cables," Francine replied. 

"Are you sure it doesn't have something to do with a certain red-head," Angie teased. 

Francine glanced over at Brandon, who was currently chatting with the director. 

"Maybe a little," admitted Francine.

A grin spread across Angie's face, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Shhh!" Francine hushed, making sure that Brandon hadn't heard, "It's not a big deal. I don't think I'm going to do anything about it. I still feel a bit off kilter from the whole Josh thing."

"Fair enough," Angie nodded. 

 

"Besides you seem to have quite the hots for your Usnavi," Francine smirked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Angie replied stiffly.

Francine laughed, "And now I can pay you back for the times you teased me about my crushes."

"Crush? What crush?" Angie said unconvincingly.

"I'm sensing the start of a really cute showmance," Francine smiled.

"What? I don't care," Angie shrugged.

"Sure you don't," Francine replied with a smirk.

Angie let out a huff, "Well I don't."

\----------

Francine might have been a performer, but nothing had prepared her for the insanity known as tech week. They had rehearsals for practically half the night, dealing with costume issues as they slowly plodded their way through the show's ridiculous number of light cues. It was the second night of tech and they were only now reaching the end of act one.

They were about to go into the last number of the first act when Evan who was playing Benny ended up experiencing a wardrobe malfunction resulting in the loss of a few buttons on his shirt front.

"Dang it," Evan grumbled, holding his shirt closed with one hand. 

"Costume shop," commanded the director, "Brandon will be placeholder."

Evan muttered and slunk off stage as Brandon appeared from the wings and approached her.

"Warning I'm not much of a singer," he admitted.

"Good thing we're doing more standing around while they fix light cues than actually running through things," chuckled Francine.

"True," Brandon nodded.

"Going dark!" A voice shouted from offstage.

"I love a dark theatre," Brandon said, his voice soft enough that Francine was glad he was so close to her, "Especially with people in it. All the whispering kind of feels ethereal, you know?"

"It does," agreed Francine, "like it's full of the ghosts of productions past."

Brandon hummed, "Spooky and soothing all at once."

Francine almost felt like they were the only ones in the room and she could feel him standing by her side. The illusion was broken when the lights suddenly turned on again and Francine realized that she'd been leaning towards Brandon, leaning back slightly and looking away to try to hide her blush.

The lights shifted for the next cue in Blackout in which most of the set was still dark except for a white light to represent the moon shining down on the cast.

"So how have you been doing?" Brandon asked, "I know this is your first full scale theatre production."

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself," replied Francine, "although this whole tech week thing is a bit of an ordeal."

"You can't even imagine what it's like on my side of things," laughed Brandon.

"Yeah?" Francine cocked her head.

"I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it," Brandon laughed as the lights switched again and a projection of fireworks came up behind them.

"Kiss position!" the director called out, "Get in close you two."

Francine swallowed as she followed Brandon behind the Bodega up the stairs leading to the fire escape.

Once they were in the right place, Francine hesitated slightly before stepping forward and putting her hands on Brandon's shoulders. 

"Closer!" the director called, "The way you and Evan stand during the kiss!"

"That's going to require you putting your hands on my waist," Francine whispered.

Brandon didn't even pause, pulling her close. His hands were warm through her costume. Francine did her best to suppress the warmth rising to her cheeks as they stood there for a moment. Her eye quickly glanced down to see Angie standing on the stage smirking up at her. Francine turned away, there would be time to tease her roommate about her love interests later.

Soon the lights went into another blackout to signify the end of the act.

This is also indicated the end of their rehearsal and the main house lights came up, the cast chattering as they made their way to the dress rooms to change out of their costumes. Francine stepped away from Brandon, clearing her throat self-consciously. Before she could say anything, he was called away for his own duties and gave her a small wave as he trotted away.

Francine climbed down the stairs where she found Angie waiting for her, "You need to tell me everything that just happened."

"Nothing," mumbled Francine, "except my utter embarrassment."

"Seriously? You were standing so close-"

"Ange, nothing happened," Francine replied, "come on, let's go back to our place."

\----------

There were no crazy costume mishaps for the rest of tech week and Brandon was quite busy doing Stage Manager things, so Francine didn't really get to spend much time with him in the days leading up to opening night. 

Now it was opening night, and the actors had all gathered in a circle.

"Between our two families I seriously doubt there will be many empty seats," Angie teased brushing a strand of her long dark hair, that Francine had painstakingly curled, over her shoulder.

 

"That's what I'm worried about," Francine admitted, concentrating on taking deep breaths. 

"Oh come on you're going to be awesome," Angie put her arm on Francine's shoulder.

The nerves continued to plague Francine throughout the cast warm up and the warm up she and Evan did by themselves. Then it was time for places and Francine couldn't stop her hands from shaking. 

"You're gonna be great."

She startled slightly at hearing Brandon's voice before remembering that her first entrance was from the same side of the stage where he sat to call light and sound cues.

"You think so?" Francine asked.

"I know so," Brandon smiled.

Luckily, she didn't have to go on right at the top of the show (she certainly didn't envy Carlos, their Usnavi, who had the first lines), so Francine forced herself to take calming breaths as she watched from the wings. Brandon's confidence had a soothing effect on her and when it came time for her entrance she actually felt ready. 

"Knock 'em dead!" Brandon whispered, throwing her a quick wink.

Francine smiled as she slipped past him onto the stage walking calmly (or as calmly as a girl who just dropped out of Stanford could) and approached Carlos for her first scene.

Everything was a bit of a whirlwind after that and before Francine knew what was happening they were taking their bows, Angie was squeezing her hand, and they were both laughing joyously as the curtain closed.

Angie threw her arms around Francine, "I told you that we would kick ass!"

"And your dad was totally tearing up," Francine laughed.

"Of course he was," Angie rolled his eyes, "but he'll never admit it."

When they had changed and gone out to the theatre lobby, Angie let out an excited squeal and went to attack her parents in a hug. Francine hung back, allowing them the family moment. Frankie and Bob weren't able to make it to opening night, but they were going to be there the next night. Several people approached Francine to congratulate her and a few high school girls even wanted to take a picture with her, which was kind of exciting.

She figured she might as well say hello to Angie's parents but she was stopped before she could get very far...by Brandon.

"Hey," Brandon smiled, "great job tonight."

"Th-thanks," Francine said, a pleased flush spreading across her cheeks. 

"I have something for you," Brandon told her before pulling his hand from behind his back to reveal a small bouquet of flowers. 

Francine's blush deepened as she took the flowers.

"I know that you broke up with your boyfriend at the beginning of the semester," Brandon said, "and that your parents couldn't be here tonight, but everyone deserves flowers on opening night and Nikki thought it would be nice for me to bring some to you."

Francine blinked, "Nikki?"

"My girlfriend," replied Brandon. 

Francine felt her heart sink, "Oh..."

"She's coming on closing night," Brandon continued, oblivious to Francine's current distress, "and she wants to meet you. I've told her a lot about the cast," he chuckled, "especially you and Angie."

"I'd like that," Francine said faintly, looking down at the beautiful flowers.

"Well, see you tomorrow," Brandon smiled and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

It was very tempting to throw the flowers away, but Francine resisted and took them instead to the dressing room and placed them on the counter by her makeup mirror before sinking down into her chair. She wasn't sure how long she sat in the dim dressing room by herself. 

"There you are," Angie said as she walked in, "I've been looking all over for you. Mama and dad want to say hi. Ooo pretty flowers!"

"From Brandon," Francine said, but then continued wryly before Angie could comment, "and his girlfriend Nikki."

"Well that's awkward," Angie sighed.

"No kidding," Francine huffed.

Angie was quiet for moment, "Well forget about him for now, we're gonna celebrate, Mama brought brownies."


End file.
